Malaysian-made products and services at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) 2021 managed to generate RM572 million in potential sales upon its conclusion.
A total of 39 Malaysian companies participated in the physical trade fair while 19 other companies joined virtually, where 2,574 business enquiries and more than 150 business meetings were arranged between Malaysian exhibitors with Chinese importers, distributors and wholesalers. The products and services featured at the expo involved food & beverages, health & wellness and lifestyle.
CAEXPO 2021 is a key event for Malaysian exporters who want exposure to Chinese buyers, this time around sellers were introduced to collaborating partners including CAEXPO Secretariat, China Construction Bank (CCB), Oversea Prominent Brands (OPB) and local associations/chambers of commerce where Matrade arranged business meetings during the event.
Mr. Ting from Manjung Naluri Sdn Bhd (one of the top five high achievers who participated in CAEXPO 2021) said, “Our goals to participate in CAEXPO has been satisfactorily met. Virtual CAEXPO provided us with a platform to promote our products to a broader group. It brought us more opportunities to reach out to trade buyers and assisted in creating a wider customer database from the visitors of our virtual booth.” Mr Ting also extended his sincere appreciation to MATRADE for the smooth arrangement, which helped facilitate Malaysian companies in reaching out to international buyers.
Overall CAEXPO 2021 concluded with a total of 179 deals worth a combined value of over USD46.59 billion were signed during the expo. The total value marks an increase of 13.7 percent over the previous edition, showed data released by the expo secretariat at the closing ceremony.
148 economic and trade promotion activities and 26 high-level forums took place during this year’s expo, covering industrial chains, industrial capacity cooperation, customs and health.
With an exhibition area of more than 100,000 square meters, this year’s expo set up 5,400 booths for offline exhibitors. Over 1,500 enterprises participated in the in-person exhibitions. The exhibition area for foreign countries was about 20,000 square meters, up 13.4 percent year on year, said the organiser.
Since 2009, China has been the largest trading partner for Malaysia for 12th consecutive years and accounted for 18.6% of Malaysia’s total trade in 2020. Trade with China in 2020, was valued at RM331.44 billion, with a growth rate of 4.7%. Total export was recorded at RM159.22 billion, while total import was RM172.22 billion. For the first seven months of 2021, Malaysia’s trade with China expanded by 29.8% to RM233.40 billion compared to the same period in 2020. Exports rose by 21.2% to RM103.22 billion while imports from China increased by 37.6% to RM130.18 billion
